Roller rail for industrial heating furnaces



1940- H. H. HARRIS ROLLER RAIL FOR INDUSTRIAL HEATING FURNACES OriginalFi led Dec.

a m 5 mr 8w MM Mi H A W m? Hflw 00 J i lh i q m E Patented Feb. 6, I940-ROLLER RAIL Fort mnnsmmn HEATING FURNACES PATENT OFFICE Henry H. Harris,Champaign, Ill.

Application December 1, 1937, Serial No. 177,428 Renewed July 13, 1939 2Claims. (01.193 35) My invention relates to improvements in rails foruse in industrial heat treating furnaces, such as carburizing furnacesor the like, through which the loaded work supports, such as trays,boxes or the like, are moved in tandem while supported on rollersmounted for rotation in rails.

Rails of this type are usually heavy, massive castings, and eachinstallation and replacement involves the expenditure of considerabletime and expense. The rails are subjected to the load bearing andtravellingstresses as well as the'heat conditions which prevail withinthe furnace, and

thus have a relatively short effective life. Most of'the wear is takenup by the bearings, in which the roller journals rotate, and if any onebearing in a rail becomes worn or cracked, the entire rail is affectedand must be replaced. as above stated, is expensive, and it is theobject of the present inventionto provide a roller rail with separate,independent roller bearings. r

Another object of my invention is the provision of a roller rail withreplaceable and renewable bearings. 1

Another object of my inventionis the provision of a roller bearing forroller rails which can beused in a number of diiferent positions toincrease the normal life. of the rail construction.

My invention relates also to improvements in the roller rails themselvesas well as in the roller bearings incorporated in the rails, and objectsof my invention in addition to those pointed out hereinabove mill inpart be pointed out specifically, and in part. will be apparent from thefollowing description of several illustrative em bodiments thereof.

In the drawing annexedhereto and made a part hereof,

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section along the broken line I-I ofFig.2; of one form of roller railconstructed according to and embodyingmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof, also partly in section, alongthe broken line 2--2 of Fig.

of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the form of bearing shown in combinationwith the rail and roller in Figs. 1-4 inclusive.

Referring to the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1-5inclusive, the rail section III is substantially channel or U-shaped incross sec- Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 tion, having apreferably flat base II, upon which the rail section is disposed withinthe furnace either on the furnace floor or other support therein, andvertical side walls I2, I2. I Rail section I0 may be cast, rolled orotherwise formed,

as desired, of heat and corrosion resisting metal alloy, preferably ofnickel, chromium and iron composition. The bearing members I6 andtherollers. I1 may also be formed of a similar, preferably higher grade,composition metal alloy.

In the upper edges of side walls I2, I2 of the rail I0, I form a numberof pairs of transversely aligned, open notches I4, I4 of part polygonalshape, to receive the bearings. The pairs of notches I4 are preferablyspaced at equidistant intervals along the length of the rail. Ipreferably form these notches 4, I4 as part of a regular polygon havingan even number of sides, for example, notch I4 is shown having fivesides, each of which is a side of an eight-sided polygon, -i. e., anoctagon. If desired, notch I4 mightbe formed with. three sides, as partof a square, etc. The five sides of notch I4, which notch is open at thetop, are of equal length, comprising vertical side walls I8, I8 angledwalls 20, 20 and hori--;

zontal bottom wall 22 (see 2).

The bearing member I6 is shaped to fit and the upper edge of the track.Any of the sides of the bearingmember may be used as the bottom side.

Bearing member I6 is provided with enlarged end portions 24, 24, theperipheries of which end portions 24 correspond in outline to theperiphery of bearing member I6, and said end portions 24 preferably havethe same number of angled flat faces as does the bearing member I6. Whenthe middle or recessed parts I 5 of the bearing members I6 are insertedand received in notches I4, the enlarged end portions 24, 24 of thebearing membersIG are disposed one on each side of the side wall I2 ofthe rail III adjacent to the notch I4 and this arrangement serves tosecure the bearing member I 6 to the rail. Integral with and extendinglengthwise'of the, rail walls I2 I provide a pair of shoulder portions26, 26 which,

are located respectively on the inside, and on the outsideof the railwall I2. The bottom faces of on top of these shoulder portions 26 as at28, and distribute the load bearing stresses over the rail walls.

Bearing members l6 are provided with tapered central bores 30, toreceive the correspondingly tapered trunnions 32, 32 which are formedintegral with rollers, I8, and in .assembling the rail, the trunnions32, 32 are fitted into'the bores 30 of members I6 and both the bearingmembers for a single roller can be placed within the aligned notches l4.

Most of the wear on the rail as a whole is borne by that portion of thebearing which is directly underneath the roller trunnions. Thus,referring to Fig. 2, most of the wear on bearing l6 occurs at region 50,underneath trunnion or pintle 32, and after extended use it isinevitable that the journal becomes affected, either worn, cracked,

warped, or otherwise rendered unusable. With my arrangement, I amenabled to remove the bearing members It from the rail notches, turnthebearing member l6 so that a new face is down andreplace the bearingmember so that the adjacent angled face 52. of-the bearing now rests onthe bottom .of notch I l, underneath pintle or journal 32. With anoctagonal bearing, it is possible to use same in eight differentpositions, and the life of the bearing is multiplied correspondingly.

The advantagesof my invention reside in the fact that the bearing can bereplaced and renewed, in effect, without affecting the rail itself. Therail. is usually the heaviest and most expensive part of the assembly,and since weight is a cost factor, it is an advantage that the life ofthe rail is increased because, with separate bearings, it takes no wearor stresses directly. The angled faces of the bearingmember make itpossible to use the same bearing member in as many different positionsas there are faces, .In

the end portions 24 of bearing members l6 rest Figures 1 to 5, I haveshown an octagonal bearing which can be used in eight differentpositions.

In all the modifications of my invention, I form notches of such depth,that the trunnions or pintles of the rollers are below the upper edge ofthe rail walls. This arrangement prevents the bearing members frombecoming dislodged from the notches. s I

With my renewable and replaceable bearings, I am enabled to use apermanent'rail body, since the rail body itself is usually affected tobut a slight degree by ordinary furnace conditions.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A roller rail comprising a rail body portion having a floor portionand side walls, transversely aligned, open, part polygonal notchesprovided in said side walls, bearing members of similar polygonalformation adapted to be removably received within said notches, andmeans on and a part of the side walls below said notches bearing againstthe underside of the bearing members to sup-port said bearing memberstherewithin, and rollers mounted for rotation within said bearingmembers. ,1-

2. A roller railcomprising a rail body portion having a floor portionand side walls, trans-'- versely aligned, open, part polygonal notchesprovided in said side walls, bearing'members of regular polygonalformation similar in size and shape to the' notch formation disposedwithin said notches of the side walls, platforms on the side wallsbeneath the notches extending out from the walls and extending the,length thereof, en.-

largements on the ends ofsaid bearing members overlying the said sidewalls and resting on said platforms serving to removably secure saidbearing members within said notches, and" rollers mounted for rotationin said bearing members.

